Stuck in a Rut
by lS2l
Summary: Brendan has had next to no luck in Sinnoh. Animeverse mixed with Gameverse and Mangaverse Franticshipping


_Hi everyone,_

 _I had a bit of writer's block and thought I'd just write a one-shot to get things started. Hope you like it :)_

Walking through Hearthome City, Brendan struggled to not eat his white beanie. Chaz had completely annihilated him, flicked his blond hair and sauntered off stage with the ribbon. He'd been stunned, and Chaz, a man he'd thought was his friend, had left him alone, not sparing a glance for Brendan, who'd not realised that Macherie knew attract.

Hearing the call on his PokéNav, he groaned as he recognised the ringtone. It had been personalised simply due to the frustrating nature behind this individual's whole persona—one that had Brendan fluctuating between tolerating and disliking.

Now definitely wasn't the time for him to talk to Barry, the blond man who was impatient, unobservant and just a bit rude, demanding fines from anyone and everyone. On a good day, Brendan felt reluctant to talk to someone as brash as him, and the Hoennese man was definitely not having a good day today. It took him all of two seconds to pull out his PokéNav and turn it to silent, before returning it to his pocket.

Running a hand through his hair, he stifled a groan as he considered his other acquaintance who was moving around the region. Gary was his name, and the man was a womaniser, to put it mildly. However, for all his faults, the man was a formidable opponent, and one he wasn't sure he ever wanted to meet May. Just thinking about the woman left a hollow ache in his chest. There was no denying it, he missed her. From the first day he'd encountered her in Little Root, he'd been attracted to her. After learning of her personality, what started as a purely physical attraction escalated… fast.

Arceus, what he wouldn't give to just have a day of peace, where he could train his pokémon and recharge his energy, possibly forget all about the Hoennese woman that had brought him to this region.

'Brendan!' A female voice called from behind him, and he automatically felt his shoulders hunch.

He'd spent enough time in Sinnoh to have gathered a few acquaintances, but he hadn't met any women here, yet. Even so, the voice was incredibly familiar, and taken up by another, higher voice shortly after. Surely his luck wasn't going to be _that_ bad today. Sure, he knew it was bad, but surely it wasn't _that_ bad.

Clenching his beanie harder, Brendan bit back a growl as he turned to give both women a piece of his mind. He drastically hoped that it was some horrible prank set up by Gary or Barry, though he very much doubted that the latter man associated with any women.

Seeing the familiar, sapphire eyes of May in the crowd, Brendan's voice died in his throat as the woman ran towards him, tackling him in a hug so tight they both toppled to the ground, appearing to have forgotten all about their last encounter.

Instinctively, Brendan wrapped his arms around her toned waste, pulling her closer as he choked out, 'MAY! How many times do I have to tell you to be careful?'

The woman, in response, stuck her tongue out, and it took all of Brendan's self-control not to flinch back, away from her. After all, there was next to no space between them, and all she had to do was lean forward slightly to lick his cheek. Given their last encounter—and her subsequent rejection of him—he doubted she would, but with May, you could never truly be sure.

Hearing a sudden giggle from above them, Brendan felt his cheek warm uncomfortably as he saw a woman with navy hair and eyes beam down at them. Seeing her, Brendan's ruby eyes widened as he noticed just how beautiful she was. Her pale skin radiated as she watched both Brendan and May on the ground, in what the man could only hope was an innocent pose. The thought alone sent his blood to a region he definitely didn't want, and he quickly reminded himself of being in a room with Barry after the man had had a few too many coffees.

The stranger let out a light laugh as she winked, 'well, May always said you two had an explosive friendship. We just saw your Contest performance, and May wanted to be with you to make sure you weren't taking it too hard.'

Hearing the woman remind him of his failure, Brendan struggled to smile, though May beat him to it, pinching his cheek as she hissed, 'see, Dawn? I told you he'd need me! He's always been such a softy, isn't he just adorable?'

'I am not!' Brendan scowled, trying to push May off of him, though the Hoennese woman was having none of it, using her weight to trap him on the hard, concrete ground, forcing strangers to walk all around them.

'Come on, Brendan, we both know that you're always telling me how you feel,' May teased as she clambered off him and brushed off her emerald clothing.

Hearing her words, Brendan grimaced as he saw her offer him a hand. To say it stung was an understatement, especially since he could still hear her shocked voice in the back of his mind.

 _Oh, Brendan, I didn't realise you felt that way. I'm sorry._

I'm sorry, like those two words ever fixed anything. If only Groudon would create a crater at his feet and swallow him up whole.

Brushing aside the woman's hand, he stood up uncomfortably, trying to maintain a passive expression. Considering he hadn't seen May since she'd clumsily rejected him, Brendan wasn't sure how well he was doing. However, he knew he'd rather be anywhere but there, with May's sapphire eyes watching him.

Seeing both Dawn and May look at him, he glanced away momentarily before grimacing, 'I was just going to train my pokémon, excuse me.'

He didn't wait for a response as he turned away from the two women, his ruby eyes downcast.

Honestly, after how Chaz had slaughtered him in the Contest, he wasn't in the mood for anything, least of all May's boisterous teasing. She was a beautiful handful, and could be as chipper and climb as easily as any Mankey, however, as much as Brendan honestly admired her and cared for her more than his Hoennese companion could ever understand, right now he just wanted solitude.

From behind him, he heard May call out to him, but ignored it, walking along the crowded streets, his beanie still held tightly in his hands. He knew his hair must look terrible, but there was no way he was shoving his beanie back on his head. May would spot him from a mile away, and he wanted to be as discrete as he could.

'Brendan!' May called, though he stormed on ahead, not looking where he was going, his mind filled with memories of his Swampert immobilised by attract.

He heard the distinct sound of a car horn before he felt a warm, feathery claw grab onto him and pull him out of the way, back onto the pavement.

Turning, he saw a pokémon—Blaziken. Grimacing, he saw the pokémon's infuriated Trainer behind him, tapping her foot with her arms crossed, her thin eyebrows narrowed in irritation.

Grimacing, he scratched the back of his head, unsure of where he should look or what he should say.

'Well, what's gotten into you? Dawn's already gone back to the Pokémon Centre so you can just hurry up and tell me,' May scowled, her anger a manifestation of her genuine concern for him.

Feeling his heart flip, Brendan grimaced as he stared down at his running shoes. May wasn't the kind of person to tell him how she was feeling if it wasn't happy or angry, though the latter was harder to hide. However, with the bitter taste of rejection so fresh on his mind, he knew better than to hope that May might just reciprocate his affection for her. Even so, he knew she wasn't going to let him go until she was sufficiently appeased about his mental welfare.

Glancing around, he saw a café in a deserted alley nearby. He sent her a meaningful smile and asked, 'want a coffee? My shout.'

The woman's sapphire eyes flickered once to him and back to the effeminate café on the main street, not at all registering the small café in the alley that had grass type pokémon swinging from the rafters. The café on the main street screamed everything that May from Little Root did not want, with frills and giant cupcakes decorating the door frame.

Seeing her eyes narrow dangerously, Brendan hurriedly explained, 'not the one you're thinking of. Trust me, and you know I'd hate to talk to you about this on such a busy street.'

The woman huffed once before jerking her head up, placing her hand in his, an action that made Brendan's heart soar, as surely as if he were on the back of Latias. If only May genuinely wanted to hold his hand. However, he knew her well enough to know that she was holding his hand to ensure that he didn't run away. After all, with her angry countenance, there was no denying that he had considered running away.

So, leading the way, Brendan saw the woman's expression relax into a small smile as she caught sight of the Turtwig nibbling on plants.

After taking seats in the furthest corner of the café, Brendan pretended to inspect the menu as he subtly studied May, noticing the woman's sapphire eyes reading the menu, her small lips curving into a smile as she considered various food options. After all, since Brendan was shouting, she wouldn't need to worry about the affect her huge appetite had on her wallet.

Letting out a slight chuckle, Brendan put his menu down, knowing what he'd order already.

'Should I get the mixed berry pancake or should I just get a salad?' May frowned, surprising the man with showing restraint.

'Get whatever you want, it's my shout,' Brendan reassured the woman, hoping his smile seemed every bit as genuine as he hoped it was. After all, May was the kind of woman who ate a lot, but she was also the kind of woman who cared immensely for her friends and pokémon, and Brendan wanted to ensure she wasn't worried about him.

'No, I don't think so. I know you lost that Contest, so we'll be halving it. Besides, I need to consider my waist—I didn't fit in my Contest dress that Lisia gave me,' May responded, flushing slightly as she fidgeted with her menu.

Watching her, Brendan would have smiled if he wasn't so concerned about the words coming from her mouth. With a frown, he retorted, 'May, Lisia gave you a size that barely fit you when we were younger. You can't justify not fitting in a dress that was half a size too small when you were twelve as a reason for changing your whole diet.'

'Well, I just did,' May retorted with a glance that silenced him. He knew that look, had seen it whenever she'd gone ahead and done any of her particularly daft ideas. It meant that he had to remain silent until she deemed her actions foolish—however long that took.

'Fine,' he responded before the waiter came to take their orders.

The two sat in silence whilst they waited for the man to finish their orders before returning with their drinks, bowing slightly to them.

Once he was certain they wouldn't be overheard, Brendan relaxed, hoping that May wouldn't quiz him on why he had run away from her.

'You gave me quite a scare back there,' May began, her sapphire eyes intent upon his ruby ones.

Grimacing, Brendan felt awkwardly hot as she leaned forward, her tight suit accentuating all of her perfect hourglass figure. If she knew how he felt about her she'd toss him aside as surely as she had ghosted Wally. The thing about May was that it was next to impossible not to love her, and Brendan had fallen for her long ago and harder than any tumble he'd taken.

'Brendan, you're not acting like yourself. Is everything ok?' May asked, her expression creasing with her concern for him.

Feeling a stab of frustration and guilt, Brendan turned his attention to a corner, noticing a Spinarak spinning its web above them.

'Well?' May pressed, surprising the man by pleading with him.

Grimacing, Brendan hesitated once before he recalled how everything had gone since he had foolishly confessed to May. Nothing had gone right since, and it wasn't just meeting Barry and being pestered by him on a near daily basis. Unable to withhold his emotions, he choked out, 'no. Nothing's been all right for a while.'

He heard something scraping in front of him, but noticed nothing, digging the palms of his hands into his eyes.

'Brendan, you should have told me,' the woman whispered before pulling him into her, her warm eyes wrapping around him.

'How can I tell you anything after…' the man choked out, pushing her away as he turned his attention to the floor.

'Brendan,' the woman responded in such an exasperated tone that Brendan almost got up and left. Why was it always May that saw him at his weakest? Couldn't it have been Barry?

'What?' He hissed, though refused to look up at her.

Instead, the woman squatted down on the ground to look up at him, her expression filled with concern. In a slow, steady voice, she said, 'whatever you think has happened… I believe I may have the wrong end of the stick. Or you do. I'm not too sure about how that expression goes in this situation.'

Grimacing, Brendan looked at her, seeing nothing but concern filled in her eyes. With a grimace, he retorted, 'and what is this situation?'

'That I love you too, silly. You've just hit a blip, and I'll be damned by Rayquaza if I leave you on your own,' May hissed before surprising him and kissing his lips, holding his head firmly in her calloused hands.

Leaning his forehead against hers, Brendan let out a shallow breath, hoping to steady his rapidly beating heart.

Feeling the warmth of her breath tickle his face, he couldn't help but watch her sapphire eyes before asking, 'what was that?'

'That was me getting you to stop pitying yourself and realise that I had no intention of rejecting you. All you had to do was stay and find out,' the woman responded, caressing his cheek in such a gentle manner that Brendan couldn't believe it was happening. He'd never seen May be so gentle.

With a soft chuckle, he asked, 'you mean it?'

Rather than respond verbally, May sent him a quick smile before capturing his lips in her own, closing her eyes warmly.


End file.
